Phase	Years	Theoretical Focus	Key Contributions
Early Foundations	Pre-2005	Rhetorical ambiguity, incongruity resolution	Established cognitive benefits (elaboration, memory)
Growth Period	2006–2015	Strategic ambiguity, cultural/polysemic targeting	Multi-audience appeal, minority sensitivity
Maturation Phase	2016–2025	Memory encoding, authenticity, identity signaling	Ambiguity as meaning mechanism; dual authenticity pathways